.When I'm taking pictures I'm very focused and I really don't want to talk about what some guy did with his camera club last month.

People with expensive cars like to take pictures of them, so I get sucked into gear talk all the time in the field. I try to be as polite as possible and answer their questions, but when I'm on deadline and the clock is ticking, it's definitely a distraction.

What never ceases to amaze me is how many people feel entitled to give you photo tips and advice while you're working. I had one dude recently offer unsolicited lighting advice while I was lighting up his buddy's car. Mind you, earlier in the day he showed me a bunch of snapshots he took with his 5D2, Alien Bees, and some expensive primes that could have been taken with an iPhone. At this point he had no credibility, but then he went on to complain about how much the 5D2 sucks in low light, which only compounded matters. Fortunately he didn't take offense to me ignoring his "advice," but believe it or not, a lot of people do.

Don't get me wrong. I love talking about photography techniques, and to a lesser degree gear, with photographers who have useful information to share. That said, I would never tell a working professional in any field how to do their job, especially while they're working, and then get mad if they ignored my useless advice.

Goodness.I guess what country , or even what city you live in makes a difference.

I live in New Orleans, if someone approaches you to talk about most anything, camera included, it is usually met with a friendly answer, a smile, and could at any time end up with making a new friend, at least in my experience living here many years....

cayenne

cayenne, New Orleans is so different that your surprise is no surprise. I call it "Hospitality City."

For a lot of years I traveled all over the U.S. I did this both as Press and as trade association management. I worked with the hospitality industry everywhere. All towns/cities are welcoming when you're bringing a lot of people in for meetings/conventions/shows. What they like most is your money. New Orleans impressed me as the only place I ever went where they were genuinely happy to see and meet people. In my experience, no place else comes close!

That said, let's retire to a nice little place on Burgundy Street (proper pronunciation!) and have a few Sazeracs.

People with expensive cars like to take pictures of them, so I get sucked into gear talk all the time in the field.

Haha! Just last night as I was shooting a bike race, some guy drives thru in a porsche convertible and seeing my white lens (70-200 2.8L) stops and waves his hands and yells (in a friendly tone) "don't you want to take a picture"? Uh, no, but thanks. I just smiled, pointed it in his general direction (without even looking thru the viewfinder) and feigned pushing the shutter. He smiled, waved and drove off.

I know in the NE of the US, that people aren't quite as friendly as we are in general in the southern US, but I just figured it was mostly up there

What the *#$%$ are you saying?? That we're *#$%$ unfriendly here in Baaahston? That our wicked baahd attitudes mean we ignore polite *#$%$ conversation?!?!?

How do you disappoint a Bostonian?

"How's it going? Just in for the weekend? Where ya from?"-"Yeah, just staying a few days. We're from New York""Hey, you must be a YANK-EEEES fan eh?" (grinning big)-"Uh, actually, I don't follow baseball"

I still chuckle to this day and ALMOST feel bad for how he physically slumped as he said 'oh'.

As well as photos for the past 20+ years, I also shoot video with my 5DIII (I know, I know, UNCLEAN!!!) so when I'm shooting video I'll put on a Zacuto Z-finder loupe for focusing with the liveview screen. Nothing gets more questions or comments than that does. Last weekend at the farmers market I started to count how many people asked what it was or commented on it...nine in just an hour or so.Occasionally I'll see other people out shooting video and since I'm sometimes short on crew for projects I like to meet new people in the business. I'll take the opportunity when they're not shooting to try to strike up a polite conversation and surprisingly most of these guys are complete *&%$s. Too bad for them, since they're passing up a chance at a paying gig.

I see a lot of people who take pictures with their hoods reversed. I've been tempted to ask them what that's all about but I've resisted and just went about my business with my lens hood the right way on hoping they'll take the hint.

I get asked the basic small talk like "what kind of camera is that?" Etc. I think I'm going to start making up bullS___ to see if they clock on.

Question I like answering are ones about technique or specific to what I'm doing. Then it feels like I'm helping them rather then them just filling an awkward silence.

I never see that... or haven't yet. Now that you mention it, I will probably see it every time I step out the door.

Speaking of gear talk and what not, and little different, but last wedding I was using my 5DII and in the crowd is a guy with a 5DIII, a 70-200LII, an 85L and a 24L, all untouchable gear to me, my Sigma gear can match pretty close (70-200 OS, 35mm 1.4) but man am I jealous... I was renting a 100mm macro, could have rented that stuff too though.We later hooked up and chat a bit, neat guy, says photography is just a hobby, and true that when something's an interest you can spend all you want but when it's something you aim to make something off of then suddenly it's a lot more "unaffordable". Whenever someone asks how much my gear costs I tend to continue the conversation down another path or say "well, with enough work I can afford this", I start to feel ridiculous when I tell someone how much I've spent... haha

Photography is a hobby for me too... I'd like to make a few bucks to take some photos, but that would just go into my expendable cash and go into buying more stuff. If photography was my full time job, all of my money would go to the mortgage, car payments, clothes, food, etc. I do wonder if my gear would be better than what I have now... the same, or worse. I'd guess worse.

No one has asked how much my stuff costs, but it is a little weird to have $5000 in gear wrapped around my neck. Especially when the wife doesn't have any REALLY nice jewelry. But she would lose it all anyway.

It's funny though, the setup that got me the most attention was the 60D + 70-300L...while I was out at a fair with the 5D3 and 24-105 people could almost care less...it's the white lens that really draws attention to itself.

The white does bring out the peepers. My 100mm f/2.8L was the sharpest lens I had in my arsenal for a while and it doesn't rouse nearly as many questions as my old 70-200 f/4L USM.

Totally depends on who I think I'm talking to. Out in the wilds, coming across another photographer with their own gear, I might devo into a gear discussion.

At a social event... I'm usually too busy, thank them, stay busy.

Out and about... non event or nature.... I usually try to avoid or deflect gear related talk... "its not that good..." "thanks, its very old" "these were considered a bad model, so I got it next to nothing". If the other person knows their stuff, they'll question me, and I'll know they're safe to talk to.

I'm really bad at small talk. Tell me about your first dog that died... ok... I'll listen and be engaged in the conversation. It's amazing I had any girlfriends considering small talk leads to sexy talk.

I usually just say thanks - although it always sounds really funny to me because all I did was buy the stuff. I didn't design or manufacture it. I'm not much for small talk so I usually don't engage with them.

This happens most often when I'm carrying my 7D and 70-200/2.8.

I often hear, in passing, someone say to the people they are with something along the lines of "That's the camera I want." Typically they are carrying a point-and-shoot or nothing at all. If they are looking toward me, I just smile and let it go at that.

I think that a lot of people are assuming that the 70-200 is a much longer lens than it really is because it's so much bigger than their point-and-shoot.

I also like, but can't answer, the question "how big a zoom is that?" when I'm using my 300/4. So many people measure focal length in "X" instead of mm. They look at you funny when you tell them that the 70-200 isn't even a 3X zoom lens. I think they are expecting a much, much higher number.

If they ask how much something cost, I just shrug unless they are carrying gear that is in some way comparable.

The most interesting thing, though, is if I actually get into a conversation with someone and they express an interest in something like the 7D w/ 70-200/2.8. Then I let them hold it (while I'm holding the strap) and the weight often changes their mind. The SL1 has the opposite effect, at least among people carrying as much weight as I am.

I was at the beach and I heard someone say, "Now that's a camera." Then the other person corrected them and said, "No, it's the lens." I instantly hated the know it all.

When I sold gear, I explained that a lens' zoom was respective of itself, but if you consider that 18mm is as wide as most people go with their kit lens, a 250mm is roughly a 14x zoom. But yeah... I know what you mean, and I'm not going into that kind of detail in small talk.